“The IOC recognised that it must be in the remit of each sport and its governing body to determine how an athlete may be at a disproportionate advantage against their peers.”
This is why swimming, athletics and cycling all moved to develop their own gender policies, which ensure that, regardless of identity, athletes who have gone through male puberty can’t compete as women at international level.
By contrast, the IOC framework offers only a series of well-meaning aspirations. One of them is that “no athlete should be precluded from competing or excluded from competition on the exclusive ground of an unverified, alleged or perceived unfair competitive advantage due to their sex variations, physical appearance and/or transgender status”.
Try telling that to Angela Carini, the Italian boxer who withdrew from her bout against Khelif on Thursday, after just 46 seconds, in tears. Try telling it to Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori, who fights Khelif next.
The IOC, having sleepwalked its Olympic boxing competition into this hot mess, is now seeking to convince us the rules of the sport are being diligently followed.
Everyone in boxing knows this is not true. And everyone who understands sport knows it is not fair.
